Aby Rosen, the art collector and owner of the Seagram Building and Lever House, both on Park Avenue, "is negotiating an end to his partnership in the Gramercy Park Hotel with hotelier Ian Schrager," and is "buying back a $140 million loan on the building from Union Labor Life Insurance for about $90 million, people with knowledge of the situation say," according to an article today in The Wall Street Journal by Lingling Wei.

The article also said that Mr. Rosen "is at risk of losing the property at 66 East 55th Street that houses the Core Club, an exclusive social club whose initial members included Stephen Schwarzman, co-founder of the Blackstone Group and the late Bruce Wasserstein, former head of Lazard Ltd."

The article said that "an $18 million loan backed by some 27,439-square-foot retail condominium space at the building has been in default since early last year," adding that "the lender has hired Mission Capital Advisors to sell the loan, according to people familiar with the matter."

Bids are due on Oct. 26 and the article said that "some prominent real-estate families have expressed interest in buying the debt with the intention of owning the property," adding that Mr. Rosen declined to comment.

"In another example of aggressive investors looking to own property by snapping up debt, scores of hotel buyers and private-equity funds are circling the W Hotel and condo tower downtown currently owned by developer Joe Moinian, according to people familiar with the matter," the article continued, adding that "The lender is marketing a $25 million junior loan on the property, also through Mission Capital, with bids due on Thursday. The sale of the debt would set the stage for a battle between Mr. Moinian and the potential buyer for control of the property."

The article said that "a spokeswoman for Mr. Moinian declined to comment. The 56-year-old Iranian-born developer, who went on a buying spree during the boom years, also is fighting to fend off a foreclosure attempt aimed at an office tower near Columbus Circle by a venture led by Stephen Ross's Related Cos. and Deutsche Bank AG. The venture recently bought at close to full face value of the $250 million mortgage on the tower at 1775 Broadway and is now seeking to foreclose on the 700,000-square-foot building."

"Until recently," the article said, "lenders generally have been reluctant to foreclose on property even after borrowers defaulted because values were scraping bottom and the lack of financing made it virtually impossible to sell. But now, a growing number of lenders holding debt on troubled projects are resorting to selling the debt to opportunistic investors. Lenders are betting that now is the time to sell because values have rebounded some and demand is increasing from investors who amassed large war chests of capital to go after troubled real estate. 'With property values stabilizing, lenders have become more willing to sell,' says Will Sledge, a managing director at Mission Capital. 'Buyers, feeling the wind is at their back, are now more willing to incrementally increase the amount they'll pay for soured loans as a new way to get distressed real estate.'"